Sock Puppetry

[LoveHistory]

I knew about this but didn't know it had a name. Sock puppetry is a fitting moniker for it.

[Misfit]

[quote=""Ludmilla""]Personally, I never understood why a person who is just a reader (not a publishing insider and not out to make a name for oneself reviewing books) even wants an ARC. I want the finished product, finely honed and edited in its final form. Too many advanced reviewers are turning the process into a pissing contest and contributing to the mountain of hype one has to wade through to get to the information I really care about as a reader.[/quote]

Good point, but I have to confess it is fun to get an early look-see at a highly anticipated book. That said, I've had so many let-downs recently and the you-must-read-and-review pressure is wearing thin.

Interesting message/petition from a group of writers here.

[parthianbow]

If you want to see several more sockpuppets who've been exposed, take a look at the Twitter feed of @crimeficreader. Interesting stuff!

[Justin Swanton]

[quote=""Misfit""]Honestly, with all the nonsense that's been going on lately (google Melissa Douthit and Carroll Bryant if you dare), many bloggers/reviewers are really cutting back on accepting review books, especially from self-published authors.[/quote]

I dared. Real futility what these people are doing - as if it makes any substantial difference to their sales (never mind what it does to their reputations).

[quote=""Misfit""]I have a healthy stack of OOP books from dead authors [/quote]

I'll let you know when I'm on my way out.

[Misfit]

Real futility what these people are doing - as if it makes any substantial difference to their sales (never mind what it does to their reputations).

Go to Goodreads. Look at the shelves the book now has.

[Brenna]

And here I thought we were talking about Lamb Chop and Hush Puppy (Shari Lewis puppets for those that don't know).

I still cannot understand why authors are doing this. I posted something similar on Misfit's GR page this morning because it just doesn't make any sense. I wish I could ask these authors what they had hoped to accomplish from all of this although I would bet that most of them are likely ashamed of their behavior (at least you would hope).

What I have been asking myself and also still don't know is if this behavior would prevent me from buying a book? I'm still on the fence with that one because in one sense, I don't want to support someone's bad behavior. In the other, everyone has a right to be and act stupid now and then. It's what makes us humans so should we really punish someone for a mistake (this of course does not address chronic toxic authors). I don't have an answer.

[Madeleine]

Yes but it's a very public mistake isn't it? Everyone's entitled to their own opinion and it might be fine in a discussion with friends, but once it goes global....

I must admit I had no idea what the term meant either, and thought it was puppet versions of authors! Well there is a current craze for knitting people eg the Royal Family, Olympic athletes, so I thought it was similar to that at first!

[Mythica]

I just spotted this blog which has been reporting major incidences of authors behaving badly (up to 13 at the moment) - not all sock puppets but still amusing and appalling at the same time:

http://www.pocketfulofbooks.com/search/ ... ng%20badly

[Ludmilla]

I regard the tattle-tales as bad as the culprits. It's just petty to keep stoking the fires. Reminds of my children who compete fiercely with one another for attention and won't let an argument die. I just want to scream, move on, get over it! Personally, I think the avid consumers are pretty savvy and can spot many of these fakes.

I can't remember if this articleby the NY Times was posted here, but it's an interesting look at the world of paid reviews.